As computer workloads are distributed more widely throughout the web and among cloud architectures, determining the precise internet protocol (IP) address associated with a particular service becomes more difficult. For example, when a service begins execution, or moves between physical machines and virtual machines (VMs), the IP address for the service may change. While domain name system (DNS) servers provide a dynamic uniform resource locator (URL) to IP address lookup function, IP address changes can take days to update. In addition, once a communication session is established, DNS servers are not normally used to maintain security for the connection.
One example of the practical consequences can be seen by considering the use of a desktop machine to access a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) service. When a remote access client application, such as VNC® Enterprise Edition software or Microsoft® Remote Desktop Connection software begins execution on the desktop, the IP address of the remote VDI service is requested by the application. This address can be entered by the user, if known. However, if the address is dynamic, and activated only when needed, the user may not know the correct address. Similar problems occur when changing the service IP address while attempting to maintain a valid connection between the desktop application and the service.